


you and i will always be back then

by wlwrwby



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Canonical Character Death, Child Soldiers, Found Family, Gen, JanuRWBY, Team as Family, i just have a lot of feelings about these kids okay, no beta we die like redheads in rwby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:35:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28776177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wlwrwby/pseuds/wlwrwby
Summary: “There was a picture. There was a picture of the original eight of them, Teams RWBY and JNPR, although they were not yet known as such. In that picture, those kids would live on forever. The people that had died and been burned only to rise from the ashes once more would stay unscathed. A part of them would always be back then, in that very moment.”The memory of Beacon and what was built in the aftermath.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	you and i will always be back then

**Author's Note:**

> JanuRWBY prompt day 15: Beacon Throwback!

“If you had a chance to begin again, would you take it?” 

Nora’s question rang out and filled the darkness of the living room of an abandoned house they had decided was a safe enough place to rest for just a night before they went back on the road to Vacuo. The eight of them were piled together on the floor, content to use each other as pillows and steal each other’s warmth. Each other’s breaths were a soothing lullaby. 

Blake shifted in Yang’s loose grip, her own arms wrapped around Oscar in a protective, sisterly embrace. They all held Oscar a little closer after Atlas. “What do you mean?” 

Nora sat up. The abrupt action caused Ren’s head to fall from her shoulder, resulting in him pouting. 

“If you had a chance to start this all over, would you? If we could try this all again. In hopes that this time it might work out for the better.” 

The night air was suddenly heavy. One by one they sat up, wanting to have this conversation upright. After a thoughtful silence, Ren answered. 

“No.” 

The others failed to hide their surprise. Out of all of them, they had thought Ren would be the one wishing to start over. Especially considering his previous mindset in Atlas. 

Ren laughed at their expressions. “No, I wouldn’t. There’s a small chance we could have prevented some things, but this was inevitable.” 

He sighed before reaching over to ruffle Oscar’s hair, causing the tiny Huntsman to giggle and playfully swat his hand away. “Besides, we wouldn’t have met Oscar.” 

A select few gasped at the thought, and scrambled over to shower Oscar with affection, peppering kisses on his cheeks and hugging him tight. They all chose to ignore for the moment the implications of the statement, of all that this poor boy would never have had to go through if things had gone differently. Oscar was family. What was done was done, there was no reason to dwell on what if’s that would never come to fruition. 

“Nooooo! I need my son!” 

“Nora, I’m like, four years younger than you at most.” 

“Shhhhhh.” 

Laughter rang out and despite their circumstances, they all felt light. A comfortable silence ensued as they all made home in their thoughts, lazily bringing each other closer as they started to drift back to sleep. 

Just as they were about to drift off, Yang spoke up. “I think I’d go back. But just for a day.” 

Ruby yawned, “Where’d you go?” 

Yang ran a hand through her sister’s hair. “The night we met. Back when we were just beginning, everything felt new and we felt invincible. All eight of us.” 

Jaune nodded. “That’d be nice.” No one commented on how his words came out strained and bittersweet tears threatened to fall. They were the same, after all. 

“I love you guys.”  


The others repeated Weiss’s quiet affirmation. That night, they held each other a little tighter, said “I love you” a little louder, and slept a little sounder. It was impossible not to notice the missing piece, for it would always remain, but instead of sorrow, it now brought assurance.   
  
It was a reminder that she had once been there, that she had once walked and fought among them. It was a reminder of how precious they each were and what impact they all held. It was a reminder of their fallen and a reminder of what they could not afford to lose once more. 

But right now, the war didn’t matter. Salem didn’t exist. It was just the eight of them, barely beginning their lives yet living each day as if it were their last, laying together on the living room floor. For now, the simple act of existing was more than enough. 

They knew all too well that not everyone had the chance to do just that. 

* * *

Oscar had never told anyone besides Ozpin. He had never found the right time to bring it up. 

He remembered Pyrrha. He knew what she looked like. 

The night of the Fall, the night Ozpin _died_ , Oscar had woken up in the middle of the night feeling like he was on fire. His mind was filled with the screams of a redheaded woman he somehow knew the name to, the sight of a woman staring at him with a sickening smile as she aimed a bow and arrow at his chest. Later, upon meeting JNR, Ozpin telled Oscar about Pyrrha and helped fill in a few missing pieces. But that was from Ozpin’s perspective, she was his student and champion, nothing more. He didn’t truly know her. So, in the middle of their long trek to Vacuo, Oscar asked a question. 

He walked up to Jaune and tapped him on the shoulder. Jaune looked down at him with a soft smile, his eyes betraying his concern that had been ever present since his rescue. 

“You alright? Are you in pain? Do you need a piggyback ride the rest of the way?” 

Oscar hastily waved off his concern. “No, I’m okay. It’s not that.” 

Jaune visibly relaxed and threw an arm around him in a loose hug. “Phew, that’s good. What is it then?” 

Oscar hesitated and looked away. 

“I was wondering if you can tell me about Pyrrha?” 

The others stopped in their tracks from where they had been listening into the exchange, bittersweet smiles on each face. Nervous at the silence, Oscar snuck a glance back at Jaune, a small part of him expecting him to be angry. But he needn’t worry. Jaune just looked at him with that gentle smile and nodded his head. 

“Of course.” 

The rest of the day’s travel was spent telling Oscar everything they could about Pyrrha. How they all met ( _You were thrown off of a cliff?!_ ), her adorable awkwardness, the way her laugh and smile lit up a room. How her hair ended up everywhere, her hugs were rib-breaking, the way she held herself in battle.   
  
Nora skipped up to Oscar with a wistful smile. “Oh, Oscar. You have no idea how much she would’ve loved you.”  
  
“Yeah,” Jaune laughed. “You think Nora’s bad? Pyrrha would’ve been ten times worse and then some. Pretty sure she’d have you on her hip while raging into battle.” 

“The adoption papers would’ve been signed on sight.” Ren’s voice was his usual monotone, but it wasn’t hard to see the joy in his eyes. 

Pyrrha wasn’t alive. Not anymore. But her memory would live forever. 

_“For it is in passing that we achieve immortality,”_ she had once said. 

(She always had been wise beyond her years.) 

* * *

There was a picture. There was a picture of the original eight of them, Teams RWBY and JNPR, although they were not yet known as such. The instant in time was captured directly after initiation by Glynda. 

(Despite her cold outlook, she cared for her students and loved documenting them throughout their journey. After the Fall, they had all received the same picture from her. Each of them kept it on their scrolls ever since.) 

It was of the eight of them in the ruins where they had found the relics that would save their spot as students, relics still brandished proudly in their hands. There they stood, frozen as they cheered and jumped in joy, grabbing each other by the shoulders and gathered in a loose, chaotic group hug. They were just students finally beginning to see the rest of their lives in front of them. They were practically strangers, but each of them felt as if that wouldn’t last long. 

There they were, joy unparalleled, with no idea of what was to come. 

In that picture, those kids would live on forever. The people that had died and been burned only to rise from the ashes once more would stay unscathed. A part of them would always be back then, in that very moment. 

The world was cruel. Life was no different. But the fact that they had something as beautiful and pure as that moment, in that time that seemed like lifetimes ago, made it all worth it. They had lived happily, however short-lived it had been. 

Once upon a time, eight children lived together, whole and safe. They blinked and it was gone. But it had happened. And that alone was enough to transcend lifetimes. 

* * *

Finally, somehow, they made it to Vale in one piece. To Beacon. 

The night of the end of the world and the beginning of the new one, the eight of them gathered around Jaune’s scroll to view the picture. The people they saw frozen in time almost seemed like complete strangers. Those kids had died a long time ago. Perhaps after tonight, they could be reborn. 

With one last look at the scroll, Ruby walked to the front of the group, her steps confident and her eyes determined. She surveyed her team, her _family_.   
  
“Ready?” 

Each of them nodded. The leader smiled. 

“One last time.” 

Together, they marched towards the place it had all begun, to the place it had seemed to end. And after hours and hours of fighting, they won. There, in the rubble of the school they had once called home, in the place that had been the beginning of it all, they held each other tight. 

As they looked into each other’s eyes, they all realized the same thing: We won. 

Beacon Academy was the start and end of it all. And now, after the war...it was where they began again. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed, and if you did, feel free to leave a kudos or comment if you feel so inclined. Thanks again for reading, I hope you have a lovely day!<3


End file.
